Paul's Day Off | The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

More User Reviews:

On draft at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh, NC. Poured into a snifter this beer produced a solid black color with a very minimal head. THere was little to no lacing on the way down. I could pick up bourbon, vanilla, and perhaps chocolate. It was medium bodied and as it warmed helped the palate. I am not sure that I could drink this on a daily basis but it was great for a one-off. Very interesting and complex beer.

Draft at Revolution Pizza Charlotte NC. Very nice almost black pour into a snifter. Good sized tan head. Roasty aromas, malt, light coffee and nut. Some toffee, tea and barrel like aroma. Taste is a very smooth blend of roast malt, tea, tobacco, smokey oak, some molasses. Finish has most of the barrel qualities though they are subtle. Mouthfeel is not nearly as thick as the appearance would leave to believe, but still very filling. Drinkability is good in that the alcohol is well hidden, but this is a sipper and it would be an effort to have more than a couple of these.
As a side note, the American Strong Ale does not have to have a huge hop presence, that's what IPAs should be for.

This beer is simply unreal. I have to thank kkipple as I would not have stopped by thirsty monk tonight if e had not told me to. Served right from the tap and poured into a pint glass for five bucks! This one was consumed on 04/21/2009.

The pour was dark as night. Rich deep brown in color with only the slightest bit of light reddish brown on the sides. The light brown head of about an inch was all that graced the top, but this was not going anywhere, as it hung around for the entire session dropping tons of side glass lacing in the meantime. The aroma was mind numbing. Tons of bourbon, bourbon, and more bourbon. Light chocolate notes, hints of vanilla, loads of dark fruit and a definite hop note as it warms. Such a smooth, perfect taste here it is really hard to put into accurate words. Lots of bourbon as noted, mixes with a nice hoppiness and that classic duck rabbit dark fruit tone. This was sublime. I cannot even begin to try and figure out the style but all I can say is simply wow.

One of the best beers I have ever had period. Maybe it was the time and place, but I was blown away by this one. Such a rich profile and flavor with subtle hop notes accenting it perfectly. I would have this one hooked up in the house all the time if I could.

Appearance: Pours somewhere between dark brown and jet black, virtually no light gets through this one. Two fingers of off-white head that didn't last particularly long. Decent bit of lacing.

Smell: Chocolate, coffee, roasted notes. A smooth sweetness that tempers all of the other notes and seems to balance it out a little bit.

Taste: Wow. Incredibly smooth coffee and chocolate flavors, balanced by a hint of dark fruit sweetness. The finish is incredibly smooth. This beer is perfectly balanced, as the bitter and the sweet flavors complement each other perfectly. Absolutely no hint of the alcohol - if I didn't know better, I'd say this was a porter (albeit one of the best porters I've ever had).

Drinkability: Very glad I got to try this - one was definitely enough though. I wish the ABV in this one was lower, because I could easily put down a few of these. Outstanding beer...here's to hoping Paul takes a few more days off!

Growler from Capone's...
Appears a dark mahogany with a tiny, off white head that quickly fades into a small, popping cap of fizzle. Tiny bits of lacing that quickly drop back into the glass.
Smell is complex...cocoa, molassas, vanilla, coconut, rum cake, port wine, ripe dark fruit. Damn.
Taste is of the aromas with a caramel malt, and roast nut flavor pulling through.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, warming, gently carbonated, and the abv becoming noticable as you sip.

Poured into a snifter and held it up to the light - A bit cloudy outside and absolutely no light shone through - Head dissipated quickly but the beer laced nicely - Aromas of bourbon, chocolate,and dark roasted coffee but very little hop presence - Taste is amazing - Very complex with a lot going on - Coffee, dried fruit, chocolate, malty, coconut, with a nice hop kick at the end - Medium to full-bodied as I swirled it around my tongue - Alcohol is well hidden so I suspect it could be dangerous - Another great brew from Duck-Rabbit (Congrats to Ryan and to Paul for letting him brew it)

I was elated to find this beer on tap at Tyler's in Durham this week. News of it had appeared in print, but I realized the run would be limited and I didn't think I'd find it in any of my local haunts. But this week the beer gods smiled on me when three DuckRabbit beers became available at Tyler's. This one is especially surprising. It pours a dark, dark brown with a just off-white head that hangs around for some time. The nose is full of dark malt aromas with the addition of oak and vanilla. The flavor is remarkable: it's big without becoming overbearing, with a large rum character and dark malts dominating. Some nuttiness and a light fruity essence are detectable as well. The mouthfeel is chewy indeed, making it a sipper for sure. The alcohol is a bit large. Be careful!

I've followed this brew with great interest since mash-in day, drooled after it as it went on to a brief rest in the Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels, had my eyes watered further by mere rumors of the *sick* dry-hop Ryan put on it-- I've coveted this beer right down to the moment that the marvelous elixir finally revealed itself on-tap at Cindirene's in Ayden. The end result is simply unbelievable, and at only four-fifty a pint, I'll call it a definite no-brainer that this is one of the best deals in all the realm of kickass beerdom!

The brew is an impossibly-dark garnet color with a trim cap of creamy tan foam. As the head fades down to a silky sheet, thin wispy rings of lacing etch the sip-lines onto the sides of the shaker pint glass.

The aroma is juicy and citrus-floral with a rich bourbon-chocolate mocha note. Orange blossoms and oily white grapefruit rinds accent light-roast coffee laced with sticky, succulent notes of chocolate syrup. I'm a little sad to admit that the bouquet is WAY better than my feeble descriptive ability can adequately praise/laud/worship, as the excellent perfume wafting from my tumbler is undoubtedly worthy of something far bigger than a silly underscore of '5'. Hows about we go with "It smells like Angel poots"? Huh? Yeah? Ok, "Dirty, sexy angel poots"... 'nuff said.

The taste is chocolatey-rich and mocha-creamy with a fat pinch of oily citrus zest. Bittersweet orange and cool, oaky bourbon notes accent a persistent toffee, coffee, and semisweet Tollhouse-morsel melange, and a mix of mild burnt-grain bitterness augmented by cleansing alcohol neutralizes the sweetness and dries the finish just a touch. The note of tempered medium-roast coffee infused with a drop or two of icy, evaporating vanilla becomes more prominent as the beer warms a bit, and a twangy-sweet twist of citrus lingers deep into the aftertaste. There is a lot going on here, but all the sundry flavors work together, complementing each other and coming together in a fashion that in all good conscience I can only call "perfection".

The drink is on the fullish-side of medium-bodied with excellent carbonation that somehow leaves the mouthfeel stuck in a wonderful juxtaposition of both creamy -and- crisp. Alcohol is up-front and is very well-received, but the pure high-gravitational power of Paul's Day Off would surely limit one's mass-quantity consumption thereof. Even if it were so that PDO was not such an extremely limited release and you could actually find a keg at your local, you'd still likely be hard-pressed to pound a few of these babies and actually 'walk' away.

"WOW"! If this is how things go when Paul Phillipon lets the assistant brewers at D-R do their thing, then maybe the big bossman oughta make a habit of taking a day off more often! This world-class brew leaves me wondering what else might find its way onto the undercard if the junior Dark Beer Specialists from Farmville get another opportunity to run amok in the brewhouse!!

Served in a standard pint glass at City Beverage.
Pours jet black with a light brown head that leaves nice lacing as you sip your way through this masterpiece of brewing.
Smelled really nice, the first thing that hits you is the bourbon. It's there but not too overpowering but its the most noticeable. Also some nice roasted barley, and chocolate malts in there as well, and a hint of vanilla.
Taste as good as it smelled maybe even a little better. Again the bourbon comes through strongly again, but also some more complexity, as I picked up the vanilla, and licorice as well. those flavors blended very will with the roasty chocolatey flavors quite nicely.
Feels nice and creamy and coats the tongue like a warm blanket.
Definitely could only handle one of these babies though I did think it was a touch "hot" from all that bourbon but all in all this is definitely best beer I've had from Duck Rabbit.

Well hot-diggity-dang, Paul's Day Off was the kick-off brew at the legendary Brick Store 12th Anniversary. Super glad to try this one. From notes:

A. Long lasting and short lacy head. Paul's Day Off is clear, and brown-red, and dense. Kewl.

S. Big barrel notes, oak, char, bourbon-butter and all the fixin's. The beer is otherwise sweet smelling, with rich roasted malt and coffee notes and it all comes together quite nicely. Bourbon lovers (me) will love the nose on this.

T. Rich in flavor, but thin bodied. The barrel dominates. Sweet, roasty, hints of molasses and hop bitterness. Definite oak. Bourbon is BIG and it is slightly warming. Finish is warming with some bitter roasty malt and woodsy notes. Nice, but a bit young tasting. Nothing much else wrong here.

M / D. Thinnish mouthfeel is a bit disappointing, decent carbonation off the tap, the barrel seems to have dried the whole experience out and given it a shot o' booze in the mix... easy to drink and tasty, but ya gotta like woody things. Quite drinkable for 9% considering what it is.

One of the best Duck Rabbit beers I've had the pleasure of trying, Paul's day off is a big brash bourbon-y brown ale done right and it is good! I hope Paul takes more days off, 'cause this was a solid and tasty beer.

Robert came down from the brewery to spend an evening with The Charlotte Beer Club @ The Common market in Charlotte, NC (apparently Paul was working again!). We started off the eveing sampling 3 other DR's in bottles and then the grand finale..."Paul's Day Off". It was poured in pitchers and then about 30 of us had the pleasure of sampling this fantastc beer. From the apprearance, to the aroma of bourbon and vanilla, to the warmth all the way through the pallet. This beer was another great example of Duck-Rabbit's ability to brew great beer. The vanilla, bourbon, hops and chocolate notes were very evident yet incredibley well balanced through out. I quickly purchased a pint!! Cheers!

A- Black, looks like a stout, but is indded a strong ale. Out of the tulip a group of tan bubbles formed a dismal film but not much more. Not much in terms of lacing, now onto the beer.

S- A nice smell on this with the oak, bourbon, vanilla blend as well as some neat chocolate bites. A nice splash of coffee and cream. A nice malt base giving off caramel. A nice smell out of the tulip.

T- Taste of rich chocolate and cocco balanced with some molasses. Dark fruits galore. A nice blend of bourbon and vanilla from the barrel. Deep malts exploding on the palete giving of a rich sweetness and caramel/toffee. A tad of alcohol seeping in this strong ale.

M- A little less than thick with light carb as well. It is a sipper for sure. The main flavors play a prominent role in remaining on the tounge and mouth. Goes down pretty smooth as there is a hop base which does not get very bitter. A very slight alcohol touch. Looks like a thick stout but feels like a strong ale.

D- The drinkability is very high, as is the alcohol, or what I would like to call a "good problem". I was a bit woosy after my 13oz so one was good for me. This one just calls for you to consume it quickly which I did, so watch out. In all reality, I probably won't get to try this one-off again so im fortunate to try it. The perks of living in SEPA. Thanks to DR for making it to PA.

Appearance: Arrives at the bar with a dark chocolate color and not much of a head (though that was as much from the barkeep's pour as from a lack of carbonation); not much lacing, either

Smell: Caramel, bourbon, vanilla and dark chocolate

Taste: Up front, the caramel and dark chocolate hit the tongue, followed quickly by the bourbon and vanilla flavors; unlike many similar beers, however, this one has a surprise, as a hefty dose of bitter hops arrives just before the swallow; in the aftertaste, all of these flavors blend together nicely although there is a bit of a phenolic edge at the finish

Mouthfeel: Full body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Despite the mild phenolic aspect, the flavors are very nicely blended and the complexity of the hop profile establishes this beer's position in the upper echelon; hope it is more than a one-time brew

Had this on-tap at the 12th anniversary celebrationj at the Brick Store Pub's 12th anniversary celebration. I was highly anticipating this beer, and I mostly thought it was what I was waiting for. 10oz pour into a snifter. Poured a dark brown with a fairly good head that eventually faded to a thin ring and left some nice lacing. Smells very austere and woody and very, very dry with some wood and banana notes playing against one another, Definitely less lush than I was expecting in the aroma. Tastes similar, that is austere and very dry and quite woody with very firm but restrained malt. Reminds me of a dry, light, austere scotch like Clynelish a bit. These impressions carry through in the mouthfeel as well, This one is a sipper forsure. Not heavy or brooding, more contemplative.

This beer pours a jet black like a stout or a porter. I was really surprised by this. Very little head, and the lacing was really weak as there was anything to stick. Smells of bourbon, nuts, alcohol, sweet candy, and molasses.

Mouthfeel was crisp yet smooth. Flavor was of huge bourbon presence mixed with a bountiful amount of vanilla. I could also taste some almond and caramel. This is dangerously drinkable! On an empty stomach this beer can do some damage. I was feeling it halfway through.

This is, by far, the best beer DR has ever put out. And the best part about it was that there wasn't that annoying metallic twang that every single one of there other beers has. This was an absolutely splendid beer that was worth the wait.

On tap during the final day of the Brick Store 12th Anniversary festivities.

Pours a deep chocolate brown with light only showing through at the edges. There's a big, creamy tan head that shows excellent retention and lacing.

The aroma doesn't mess around and has all kind of things going on. There first thing I got in the nose was the bourbon which I could smell from pretty far away. As I got closer, the next wave of aromas is the citrus and floral hops, and finally the huge caramel malt and dark fruit sweetness. Big, bold, but fairly well integrated nose.

The taste is big and probably bigger on the sweetness and bourbon than the hops. The toasted caramel malts form a backbone with lots of sugar-coated fruit on top. The finish is very boozy with plenty of oaky tannins.

The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and well-carbonated.

This was one of my favorites of the day and had plenty of bourbon presence. A bigger hop presence in the taste could have put this one over the top, but it's still one of the best beers I've tasted from Duck-Rabbit.

Pours black red on the edge and a strangely multicolored head (light brown, with white trails), to a thick, velvety head. Smell is deep vanilla with alcohol and some coriander and licorice. Taste is roasted malts, with a bourbon and vanilla finish. A very creamy feel with an alcoholic, carbonated bite on the end. I spent over an hour on a pint; slow down and enjoy this one.

This beer is truly excellent and stands shoulder to shoulder with the greats on the site.